I think it was Mother Teresa who once said, "If your going to take a 14 hour overnight coach, you should definitely try skydiving and surfing the next day". Okay, so I'm not sure she said that, but if she had, it would have perfectly matched today's turn of events.

After leaving Sydney late last night, and a coach journey that was peppered with coughing fits (not me I might add) and the guy behind me muttering to himself intermittently, we arrived in Byron Bay at 8am this morning.

We needed food, so went for a bacon and egg butty. It was very quickly I noticed the guy in the shop next door putting out his sign. Skydive special offer. Usually when you encounter an extreme sport, taking 'Special Offers' might indicate that it could be an interesting experience, however I was assured that this was not the case, "It's just off season". So I did it. And it was fantastic. Quite possibly the most mind blowing experience. The DVD makes it look like I was terrified, but in reality I really did feel quite calm. This would be as opposed to bungee, which scares the crap out of me.

We went up in a little 10 seater, up to 14,000 ft and dropped for 70 seconds of freefall. The sky had been a little cloudy, but the guy who jumped with me (Albi) said that only added to the thrill. Apparently it shows you just how fast you are travelling, but I didn't really see much of the cloud as we shot through it at 200kph. Brilliant.

We were now on a tight schedule. Not content with one extreme sport, next stop was a crash course in surfing. Heather and James turned out to be semi-pros, and we're getting another lesson in tomorrow. All salty and sandy, but it was good weather all the way, and the surfing was quality.

Tomorrow we move on to Surfer's Paradise (which we are assured, it isn't) and will meet with Cassy. I think we're going out tonight...

This time is the last time. We set off early this morning from our hostel at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains in order to return the hire car before 11am. The journey was fairly smooth until we got into the centre of the city and did some more car pinball until we found the place we needed.

After leaving the car behind we went back down to the waterfront to take the harbour cruise we never managed before, and while we waited for departure, ended up playing cards again.

This evening we catch the Greyhound to Byron Bay; a mere 14 hours by coach, so we're doing it overnight. Currently we are wasting away the afternoon as we've seen as much as we need to here.

I've uploaded a couple more photos; check down the page to see the filled in gaps.

The jump into the car yesterday morning had to be speedy. After waiting in the reception of Sydney Central YHA for two hours, James and Heather parked the car opposite, crammed the bags into the back and we set off on a scenic tour of Sydney Airport. Not that we were meant to be anywhere near Sydney Airport.

James' navigation skills still need some polishing, and after arriving at the International Terminal, we turned around and went in the right direction; towards the Blue Mountains. We inadvertently also ended up at the Sydney Olympic Park, and after a brief exploration, we got back into the two-door and travelled the last leg of the journey into the hills.

Two days ago I mentioned I was feeling ill, and yesterday was the peak of my discomfort. I was streaming, ears were blocked and eyes were watering. Thankfully I've been feeling better today, but it's still not totally gone. Thankfully in the evening yesterday I was feeling good enough to go on a brief walk to the end of our road to view the major local landmark, The Three Sisters. Blue Mountains sits on the edge of what the Australians call the Grand Canyon, and The Three Sisters are a rock formation on the edge. Admittedly not as big as the Grand Canyon, the views were still spectacular and a large number of photos were taken.

Once back at the hostel, we dropped in a wash, watched Neighbours (been there!) and cooked ourselves a chicken tikka masala, complete with a bottle of wine worth forty quid (Heather couldn't be bothered to carry it any more). After cards, we crashed.

This morning was an early start, and we went on another visit to the three sisters, this time going further and descending the 500 or steps into the canyon itself. After a two hour stroll we took the inclined railway (the steepest in the world) back to the top and made our way to the car for the afternoon's excursion.

Despite the sunshine, when you move into the shade it becomes ridiculously cold. We arrived at our destination (the Jenolan Caves) and after a quick scout about and inspection of the stalactites/mites, we decided it was too cold to stand around in the shadow of the hills and took refuge with hot chocolates in the tourist shop.

The drive home was three hours long, with an elongated break while we tried to sort out burning photos to CD (a digital nightmare). Once back in the Blue Mountains it was fish and chips and planning tomorrow...

Yesterday morning started with toast and coffee and a train to the Opera House. We decided that walking around the outside was just not good enough, and so decided to satisfy our urge to see inside by taking an hour long tour around the building (which is infact three separate structures). We had hoped to book tickets to see Romeo and Juliet, but unfortunately it had been sold out, so we took the recommendation of the woman in the box office and purchased three seats for 'an acclaimed American Jazz Band' that evening in the main hall.

We came back up from the quayside and back inside the Sydney Tower to buy tickets for the lifts. James opted to stay inside, but Heather and I decided to don what only can be equated to Bananaman's idea of pyjamas (a bold yellow and blue jumpsuit), hook ourselves onto a rail on a rubber band and walk around the top edge of the building. It was cool, and the weather was good, although the hype would have you believe there might be an element of fear in standing 250m above Sydney. This was not the case. I've encountered fluffy toys that are more scary than the Skywalk, and to make things worse they parade to the front of the lifts queues through the starring crowds who say things like "Look at the banana people over there.". Captain Planet would have been proud.

After our epic journey (spent mostly in the ever-slow lifts) we came back to the hostel, whipped on some smart stuff, picked up Peel (one of Heather's new Danish friends) and went back over to the Opera House for the performance. Not quite what we were expecting, the jazz band turned out to be a symphony orchestra who played two jazz numbers at the end (The St. Louis Oboubia???). The opening band had been the most impressive; a Singaporean primary school band (ages 8-12) who managed to make my one school appearance playing The Toreador on a recorder sound pathetic.

We went for a beer (or two) and crashed. Australia lost last night I assume, but the papers are all but vague about it. They aren't mentioning the score anywhere.

Today we're off on a mystery road trip to the Blue Mountains (a 'Heatha-adventure'), as the tour bus failed to show this morning, so we're hiring a car.

Last time I was in Sydney, I didn't even get to go outdoors, so this visit has been a little better from the outset.

Yesterday we woke up to a full cooked breakfast by Corrine, which was a soak for the night before spent watching the Ireland/Australia match at the local Irish Pub. Bitterly defeated, but surprisingly happy (esp. Heather) we spent the night drinking with an Irishman (John) and his Australian girlfriend (Sarah).

The night's sleep had been somewhat punctuated by the house cat. Called Bailey, I will refer to him as Captain Insane, because, as the name suggests, the cat was not normal. He spent the night jumping from bed to bed, fishing balls out of the pockets of the pool table, jumping at walls and trying to open cupboards. He also tried to eat my leg, scratch James and knock over Heather's last vial of contact lens solution. I think he also set of my allergies. I am feeling a little fragile right now; mostly a sore throat and runny nose, and I'm crossing my fingers it is nothing else. I do however, feel like I am the safest tourist in Eastern Australia, travelling with two pharmacists.

Once up, we took a look at some local markets and the war memorial before boarding the coach and moving on to here (Sydney). We booked into a hostel, got ourselves a steak and went for a walkabout on the harbour front. All the obligatory photos (it's fantastic) and ended up walking across the harbour bridge before taking a couple of pots at the Opera House bar.

This morning we're looking into things to do. I think we've got a few ideas knocking around...

If there is one quintessential moment in a trip to Australia, it is probably the one when you see your first kangaroo. And today was mine.

We had spent yesterday going slow; most of the time had been spent in between the hostel and the mall where we had food. There had also been a walk up to the new parliament buildings and a tour of the chambers, but wet weather had left us a bit soggy around the edges. Our dorm in the hostel was a ten-man job, despite the early promise of a four man room. It was still a nice setup, and after slowly easing our way through the day and making the most of the accidental but unlimited web-access we had a quick drink at the hostel bar and a Mexican dinner before bed at 9pm. Not the most exhilaratingly of days, but we were still feeling shoddy from the coach journey.

This morning we were up and out by ten. Corrine, James' cousin once removed (we think) picked us up and we dumped our bags over at her house before going on a road trip around Canberra. Firstly we took a trip up the Telstar tower (for free; Corrine's daughter Tess works there) and absorbed the fantastic vantage over the city. We then drove further out, visiting the sites of the burnt out space centre and the remaining working site (following the bush fires three years ago). Afterwards we visited a local reservation (again fire damaged) but were able to get a close up look at the kangaroos and wallabies. Unfortunately the koalas were a bit thin on the ground (in the trees) but no disappointment as we have the wonders of Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo in Brisbane for that extra privilege.

Tonight we are going to watch the Ireland/Australia match (Heather is pining) and then have food when we get back. It's been pretty cool, as it's the first day where we have really felt like this is 'true' Aus, and hopefully as we move up to Sydney we'll continue getting the good weather.

After being joined by Andrew the day before last, we spent the evening wondering the city for some food and drink, ending up in an English-themed pub in a large mall where the they had enclosed an entire building (some Victorian factory) under a huge domed glass roof. Impressive. We then moved on to find some bar or nightspot, and ended up in a small jazz bar under a restaurant. Impressive décor and some quality cocktails took us up to bedtime when we wandered home to catch some sleep before the drive the next day.

Andrew hired out a car and after sorting out our Greyhound tickets for the evening we took off for the Great Ocean Road. The world's biggest war memorial, it goes on for miles and miles, but in the eight hours we had we managed to get as far as the 12 Apostles, a coastal rock formation with a spectacular view at sunset. I've got some really nice photos, but once again, can't get them online here. On the way out we stopped for fish and chips, and on the way back (which was speedy) we had to grab incredibly fast Subs and rush over to catch our eight hour coach (saying bye to Andrew who we will be trying to meet up with again in Brisbane). It wasn't comfortable or warm, but it leaves us here in Canberra at 9am. We can't check in yet, but James has been planning our itinerary and I think it looks like we're not going to get much of a chance to sit down today...